Darkness Doesn't Necessarily Mark One as Evil
by Kagome-Loves-Kouga
Summary: Kit knew all too well that things were not as they seem. Darkness didn't always mean evil, light didn't always mean good, and just because someone had been controlled didn't mean they didn't deserve a second chance. OC warning! Femmslash/Possible Yaoi
1. Repurcussions of Necessity

**Darkness Doesn't Necessarily Mark One as Evil**

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**RATING:** T

**SUMMARY:** Kit knew all too well that things were not as they seem. Darkness didn't always mean evil, light didn't always mean good, and just because someone had been controlled didn't mean they didn't deserve a second chance. OC warning! Femmslash/Possible Yaoi

**AUTHORESS'S NOTE:** Alrighty…I was reading Dark Link/Link fanfictions, so you can guess easily where I got inspiration…Or perhaps not… And I've been languidly typing this chapter, all in a few hours. I'm beginning the second chapter as I edit this one, too, so it's one of those fun projects.

**DISCLAIMER:** Oh, for Naryu's love! I don't own anything except Kit and whatever random person I choose to make up to suit my needs!

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"Link, I still don't trust her." Navi grumbled, sitting on his shoulder instead of floating about as usual.

He glanced to her. "Why?" The redhead sleeping across from them had been nothing but helpful and kind; especially considering what she had been through in the past few years. She had joined them near the middle of their journey to collect the three sacred stones, having been newly orphaned and desperate to do something good, something right. She had told him the reason was because she could spare her life; she had nothing and nobody waiting for her. Since nobody would cry over her grave, she was perfect to send into a seemingly impossible fight.

Not only had she saved his life multiple times; she'd saved Navi's life more than once too. The fairy didn't trust her because she simply didn't talk about her past, and Link could understand that. It was painful to be reminded of all that they had lost. He had been so torn up when he had gone back to the Kokiri village only to be called 'Mister'. At least he wasn't alone in that respect; the Goddesses had decided that she was essential to his quest, apparently, because she had been sent to the Sage's sacred realm to sleep for several years too. She wasn't too pleased, but he could understand that. She got over it quickly.

"Because. We barely know anything about her past."

He sighed. "…Haven't you thought about that it might be too painful to even mention still?"

"We've known _her_ for two or so years now, pretty much. Not to mention the several years plus that." He sighed.

"At least call her by her name."

"No."

"_Navi_," He groaned. "Can't you at least try to be nice to Kit?"

The fairy bobbed as she flew up from his shoulder. He had dealt with fairies enough to know that that was a refusal.

A groan from across the way alerted him that the redhead was awakening. It was a good thing, too. She'd gotten injured from a wild Wolfos that had been prowling about the field for awhile. When she'd gone for her bath three nights ago it had attacked her, but she'd been able to kill it by dragging it into the deeper water and by drowning it. Kit had gained a new wound on both her shoulder and on her right hip, but it hadn't been too life threatening. He hadn't even known about it until she'd returned to camp.

She sat up sharply, a hand clutching at the place where her heart would be. Her breath came in ragged gasps, and her eyes shut. She had been frowning a little and fidgeting in her sleep, but he hadn't thought much of it.

"…Nightmare?" He asked softly. Her head snapped towards him, a bit surprised that she wasn't nearly as vocal as he was where nightmares were involved. He supposed it came from her being disciplined or by holding back.

"…Yeah." She wiped her forehead with her hand, and then stood up sharply. "I'm going to get dressed." He turned around wordlessly, and he heard the ruffle of her nightclothes drop to the ground, and then the ruffle and clinks of her everyday attire as she clothed herself. It took her longer to get ready, she told him once, because she had to wear undergarments he didn't and she had to do a little more than he did. Mostly he didn't change into sleepwear, actually, and she rarely did too, but she'd helped him wash their clothes last night.

"I'm decent." He turned around and smiled. She was in a pair of rather form-fitting and only slightly loose black pants which ended a few inches below where her boots—which looked remarkably like his only made of darker leather and they were also made a bit slimmer—began, so they could be tucked in, with a dark grey top that had slightly loose sleeves that were elbow-length and showed a bit of her cleavage. It was more comfortable, she said, because she was curvy and it was only going to cost more rupees if she had to have tops completely custom-fitted. It was laced together between her breasts and at both sides of her hips, up to four inches below her armpits a bit loosely, showing skin. But this made her more comfortable as she had never been one to wear the conservative dressings of Hylians—vastly preferring the garb of the Gerudo women, if anything. She always told him that if and when they would go back near to the fortress, she was getting something made.

She deserved it too; her clothes were taking months of abuse well but eventually they would either be damaged beyond repair or they would fall apart. She combed through her hair with a brush she had had in their Bag of Holding—if they didn't use a magical bag for some of the items they carried, it would be impossible to travel about quickly—before she tossed it to him.

"You look like you've been worrying." She shrugged, and then traced the bandages woven around her sides. The wound was nearly gone, actually, but she could worry about that herself.

"Thanks." He brushed through his somewhat-short blonde hair, not minding that they shared a brush. She was surprisingly clean for how unfeminine she acted. He threw it back and she caught it easily.

"I'll be able to go without the bandages in a day or so." She spoke softly.

"That's good, Kit. We're nearly to Zora's Domain."

She nodded. "Perhaps we can get a couple Zora tunics…We have to go to the water temple, do we not?" She remembered what Rauru had said, and it was ingrained into her memory deeply.

"Yeah, we might. If we don't though, we'll have to figure something out. I need someone to help me in there."

"You don't need me to help you Link…Of that I am certain." She sighed, and then began the mechanical routine of packing up the camp. Even though it was extremely dark out they still preferred to travel at night, just in case the Dark King decided to send out a patrol or something.

She effortlessly moved about quietly with all her belts, pouches, and gear. Much more quietly than Link was able to. She had been fighting for years longer than he had, however. Through the bits and snippets of her past she'd allowed to pass through her lips, he'd been able to figure out that when she started practicing with the sword or just a blade—be it a dagger or knife—she had been about four or five years of age. Perhaps she had been three, as she had been surprisingly intelligent and advanced at that age, having learned to read.

He'd also been able to figure out easily that Ganondorf had destroyed the village she had once sought hollow comfort in protecting, and that she had run. She had met with Saria in the Kokiri Forest by chance, and she had told her of Link. She'd also met with the Princess, and then had been sent to Link to help him, not only for his sake but for hers as well. She needed a friend, a way to do something right so she could heal. He needed guidance and someone to protect him when he was injured and recuperating.

"Aren't you going to pack up?" She asked quietly, looking up at him from where she was rolling up her bedding.

He paused, and then patted the bedroll beside him. She wordlessly complied, and sat down beside him.

"…Please. Tell me about your past. If you cry, I'll hold you like we did when we were kids."

She seemed hesitant, but nodded. "…Fine." After Navi sat down on her shoulder, she began.

"When I was born, nobody knew how I came about. I had a mother and a father both, yes, but they both had easily-tanned skin and brown hair, with the usual blue eyes. Not exactly the formula for red hair and warm reddish brown irises. The village I came from had been separated by Hyrulian rule for half a century, the Kingdom having forgotten all about us, thus relinquishing their power over us. There were never more than thirty or forty people at a time, really. Disease in the wintery months killed most little ones and the elders off, and the harsh summer heat contributed to a few deaths by weakening the ones who were able to work out in the fields."

He shook his head. How horrible! They either worked themselves to death or got sick and froze. Not exactly the way most people wanted to go out.

"I suppose I saved my own life by teaching myself how to wield a sword as soon as I had read about it in a book. The sword I had back then was one that I had been given by the old, dying swordsman. It was the blade he had practiced with as a child. I also took a slightly longer sword of his after he died, for when I was older, and that was the one that you saw me using when I found you. They appointed me to watch the fields and fend off the Keese and Poes that liked to try to enter the village and graveyard, and I did my job well. My family fell ill when I turned eight and it left me all alone, already treated like an adult because of their mistrust. I never played with the other children, because they were told I was evil, that I was some demon or monster sent to plague them in a girl's body just because of my differed appearance."

Link choked. "T-that's stupid of them!"

"Yes, it was. However, they're all dead now, so I'm not angry at them anymore. They used to call me _it_, you know? Or just _her_. They refused to call me a Hylian; even though I'm pretty sure I have at least a bit of that race in me. I just don't know how I got this colouring. Green eyes, blue eyes, grey eyes, black, brown, blonde, burgundy hair. Not a trace of dark crimson hair and dark brown reddish eyes to be found in all the people I have seen. Not to mention the troubling aspect of how my skin doesn't burn or tan—it's useful, yes, but it unnerves people. No matter how much they like me or are thankful to me for something, there will always be the question of my ancestry and the fact I have such different colouring." She sighed, scratching the end of one of her long pointed ears, and then fiddled with one of her earrings.

She and Link had had their ears pierced while they had slumbered, but they weren't too terribly upset. She was just glad she didn't have to take care of them while the piercings were still fresh, as she had heard the complaints and groans of many Hylian girls and boys who had gotten the same piercings back in Castle Town when they had stopped by to get supplies.

She sighed. "The night the village was destroyed…" She bit her tongue slightly, and then started again. He realized her voice had almost wavered, and he could see tears pricking her eyes. "I was coming back early from watching the fields. The Poes and Keese were strangely absent, I remember, and they had been for a few days. I extinguished my lantern far away from the village because there was a blaze. I thought that perhaps they had started the storytelling we did every week without me there—it wouldn't be the first time, I assure you—but it wasn't the right day. I entered the village and that's when all I remember is immense fear…Horror…Disgust." She shuddered. "He had set all the houses on fire after blocking the exits, Link…I heard them screaming and wailing in their houses, including mine. All I could center my gaze on was him, though…He looked at me with such mirth, as if I would be something of great amusement to him. I ran as he laughed behind me. I was faster in the forest than he was on his horse since it was large and the trees were thick, so I escaped with my life. I ran for days until I ended up in the Lost Woods somehow, and I passed out. Saria took care of me and gave me a little food then told me to go to the castle to meet with the princess."

"And then after you met Zelda, you were sent after me."

She nodded, a tear rolling down her cheek, her eyes dancing with emotional pain. He wiped it away with a slightly calloused finger. "Yes, I was…Both so I could heal and so you would have someone to help you and be there for you when you were injured. Thankfully enough it worked out." She blinked furiously, trying not to cry. She had said often she didn't like to. She rubbed a little at her eyes, her gauntlets on. She almost never took them off. He wondered at that, before she stood, packing up their newly cleaned clothes and placed them in their respective packs.

"Come on, now; we need to go into Zora's Domain."

XxXxXxXxX

A half-hour later, they stood in the icy, frozen place. She walked onto the ice carefully, before she kneeled down and brushed at the surface, the snow—which was obviously enchanted as it drifted down from the ceiling—moving away. "Goddesses," She breathed out, falling onto her behind. Link easily saw what she had seen.

The Zora were frozen beneath the ice.

"This is…This is sick." She choked. "Absolutely just fucking _sick_." She hurried off the ice. Link felt bile rise in his throat, but she was holding back her snarls of rage. They had been attacked and imprisoned in their very own domain. If they were ever thawed or if they survived, she knew they would never find any peace in a home again, no matter how well-guarded and secure or sacred it was. It wasn't only a low blow, no; it was a psychological blow that would affect generation after generation of Zora.

Navi kept in his hat; he knew she was probably asleep. She didn't care much for the cold and she preferred to stay out of the redhead's way when she was angered.

She calmed herself. They would save them. Ganondorf _would_ pay. She had Link to look after, and there was no sense in giving into anger quite yet. She gave a shuddering sigh. "We need to go to the Zora King. Maybe he's unfrozen."

When they had gotten there—slipping and sliding and cursing at their now sore-bums, and in Kit's case a reopened wound that she had thought was almost done healing—they arrived in the Throne Room.

The bad thing was that the King was encased in red ice. She made her way over to it slowly as Link kicked the wall, frustrated beyond belief at the predicament they were in; the King was frozen, and the store that carried the tunics they required was sealed shut by a solid stone slab—when she hummed in thought.

"…This ice, it's different. All the ice here's enchanted to stay frozen, but…This ice…It holds a different magic."

Ah, yes. She had this natural ability to sense magic. Another reason she had been hated. It was quite handy, though, because before he had still been developing a sense for magic, and even now she could sense the tiniest change.

She remembered something. "Hey, remember that ice cavern Ruto was babbling about when I was carrying her through Jabu-Jabu?"

He nodded. "Yeah. The ice cavern."

"When you went outside to get more supplies she talked to me more—she was rather clingy, actually. She kept talking about how it had this blue fire and how it could melt a certain type of ice, which was enchanted and usually coloured red." Her eyes shone.

"Oh, no. You're not going into that ice cavern." He frowned. "You're bleeding."

She looked down and cursed. She went to the platform where Link was and undid the bottom ties on her shirt, then wrapped more bandages around her midsection along with a pad of cotton that she'd bought just in case she needed it to soak up blood, like right now. Bandages could be washed. "Fucking…" she moved to get up but cried out. "Oww! Fucking wound. Fucking Wolfos…" She gritted her teeth together and stood with his help. He understood her dislike for the creatures, having had to kill many of the animals.

She moved slowly back towards the king, and he followed. She went past the King into the place where they had once gaped at Lord Jabu-Jabu's size. Outside on the platform, her shoulders sank a little as if she was giving in. "I will stay and wait for your return, Link. Be careful in the caverns." She took a blanket from her pack, and handed him their Bag of Holding. He placed his pack down too.

"Good. I think Ruto would like if you were safe." He chuckled, and she sighed.

"I wish I could have told her back then that the engagement wasn't necessary for just carrying her, but we did need the stone." She'd talked it over with him after they had left Zora's Domain the first time when they were younger, so he knew what it had meant. The King was very happy about it, though—two female rulers meant more offspring faster and one of them was a powerful, exotically-coloured swordsperson who just so happened to be travelling with the Hero of Time. She groaned. It wouldn't work out, though; as she didn't really feel all that certain that she would live through this whole thing. "I hope she doesn't try to act on the engagement when we see each other, otherwise it will be very awkward."

"Not into girls?" He asked pointedly.

"No, I'm fine with that; it's just that I don't love Ruto like she probably has loved me for years." She shook her head. "I can't even call it love, but every time I came here she would hang on me and try to make me relax."

He nearly laughed. Oh, he remembered. When they had come here once, while he and the King chatted the Zora princess had taken Kit to have a bath—that ended in Kit unwillingly spending the night in the Princess's room due to the fact that Ruto wouldn't let her out of her sights for an instant so she could make sure she wasn't 'stressing herself out'. The redhead had been less stressed out at the end but extremely annoyed that the Princess was trying to pamper her. She'd left some Stalchildren wandering about with their heads kicked into a stream that night before she snuck back in as to not worry Ruto. He had been laughing but had clammed up about it back then, not wanting to tempt her to try to see if they could still kill something while left sightless.

"It'll all work out. I'm sure she'll understand that it just wouldn't work out." He spoke patiently as she grunted and sat down on the ground. Her fingers gently pressed against the lump of bandages above her wound.

"It probably will…but goodness, the three sure have one hell of a sense of humor." She gave a laugh and then it ended in a strangled gasp. "Right, right, being wounded sucks." She wrapped her shoulders in a blanket she had taken from a pack and leaned against a pole. "I'll be waiting for you here."

He nodded, and then began to go. "Hey, Jabu-Jabu's gone."

"'Course he is…He wouldn't have let such a sick thing happen to these poor people." She mumbled, and then watched as he made his way across the glaciers to the Ice Cavern. Kit set her mind to thinking on how she could get Ruto to understand that even though the Zora knew of a technique that allowed females to impregnate other females, it just wouldn't work out. She had a duty that was above even that silly engagement, and it was to rid Hyrule of Ganondorf alongside her best friend Link. Beyond that, she had a duty to following her heart and doing what was right. It's all she could do, really.

She thought up at least twenty ways of telling the Zora Princess that she had to end the engagement—but all of them seemed rather lengthy and just rude. Even the blunt approach failed. All that resulted from it in her mind was a screaming, crying Ruto and being hit by the Princess. Or being scorned by the Zora—if there were any there—or of even hating herself.

"Gah! Must this be so difficult?" The back of her right hand itched underneath her gauntlet and she ignored it mostly, her left hand reaching up and prodding the spot.

This would be a long wait.

XxXxXxXxX

Link slowly came back, lips blue and skin pale from the cold, but in the Bag of Holding he had two bottles of Blue Fire, ready to use at their disposal.

"Link…You're cold." She opened up a side of the blanket and he immediately was at her side, teeth chattering. She shivered too but wrapped her arms around him, trying to warm him up. A Hero-sicle wouldn't be of much use, and she'd rather not have to drag him to Kakariko to find some decent shelter with him suffering hypothermia.

"Well, no duh!" The shrill voice of the fairy came as she darted out from his cap, where she had undoubtedly been staying warm. "It's called an Ice Cavern for a reason!" The redhead ignored the barb in the little fairy's voice; she didn't feel like dealing with Navi at the moment.

After he warmed up she stood up, and he pouted from the loss of the blanket. She folded it up and put it away, and then picked up her pack. "Well? Come on."

He nodded and stood, bringing his pack up with him. As they slowly walked towards the Throne Room, Kit was getting fidgety. "…Are you nervous?" Navi cackled at that, which earned a look from Link's cerulean eyes that spoke clearly to behave herself.

"Yes." She sighed. "I'm going to have to tell him the engagement isn't going to work out." She nibbled on her thumbnail, not biting any of it off but still trying to get rid of the nervousness twisting her gut. "He's a wonderful man and I appreciate all he's done for me, but…I can't string Ruto along and now that I can end it, I have to lest I end up hating myself for the rest of my life for hurting her or myself." She stretched, trying to shake off how suddenly clumsy she felt.

"It will be fine." He consoled. "She'll probably understand." Navi nodded, taking this seriously for once. She could tell the redhead was truly troubled—even though she trusted the girl about as far as she could throw her; she was still someone who had saved her and who she could accept as a friend as long as the term was used lightly.

She snorted. "She tried to treat me like a Princess too when all I am…is…a…" She shook her head. So many words came to mind. Like peasant, combatant, even just girl. "Well, I'm just Kit." They reached the throne room and he tossed her the jar. She nodded and he went to sit on the platform, dangling his legs over the edge. She uncorked it and nearly yelped as the fire came rolling out onto the king, melting the red ice.

He seemed to shake off the cold, and moved his gaze around. His eyes met the dark reddish brown ones of the redhead, and he smiled. "Ah, Kit! You've come back to Zora's Domain at last." He also said his hello to the Hero, who was waiting patiently.

She nodded. "Yes, I have…I'm sorry that it's under such horrid circumstances, however."

He gave a nod. "Ruto waited for you, you know." Her breath stilled. "Up until she was frozen…"

"I didn't see her among the frozen." She had looked, yes, but only so she knew the fate of one of her closest friends.

"A young man named Sheik saved her, but I was frozen again soon after."

"Ah, the Sheikah." She nodded, having known him longer and a bit more than Link. He had met her, after all, outside the castle gates so very long ago and when she went off on her own she usually ran into him. Some people thought they were related because her eyes were just slightly redder and warmer than the usual brown eyes that were occasionally seen.

The Hylians didn't really like those of the Shadow Race all that well, and since her ancestry was up for debate she wasn't shielded from the pure discrimination that they sometimes showed. It was pathetic and rather closed and weak-minded, really. That showed how stuck in old times the Hyrulian people were, whereas she had been engaged to a female Zora and would have been shunned even more among the Hylian people had it not been for the royalty of said Zora princess. "Good. She's safe for the moment, then."

"…Where have you been for the past several years, you two?"

She went to join Link on the platform, but a flipper on her arm stopped her. He apparently needed her at his side, and she couldn't blame him. She stayed. "We've been induced into a magical coma, of sorts." She shrugged.

"Pretty much." The floating blue orb squeaked.

"I wasn't ready to wield the Master Sword when I first took it from its pedestal." Link sighed. "It's my fault."

"No, it's not. It's not anyone's fault but _his,_" She spat the last word. "For being such an impatient bastard."

The king didn't comment on her brash language, as anger was allowed in this case. "Kit, we must talk about the engagement."

"…Yes, we must. Link, Navi," she looked to them both, the little orb surprised that she hadn't just said 'fairy' after she had laughed at her predicament. "Please wait for me out in the main room. I will be out after the king and I discuss this matter."

He nodded as Navi bobbed up and down and they left, him carrying her pack with him after she had tossed it to him. "…I can't marry your daughter." She spoke softly.

"Why not? You can still have children; you are loved here, not disrespected like with the Hylians. She loves you, you know."

"Because I carried her throughout Jabu-Jabu's belly and saved her from the monsters inside." She interjected bitterly. "I don't want to be loved just because I saved her. I consider your daughter one of my closest friends; I do, and I consider you more of a father-figure than I have ever had in my life. She has certainly been more pampering than anyone I've ever met in my life," He chuckled. "But I cannot keep her waiting for a future that may never be. I might not survive this quest, king, and I have a duty above that; I have a duty to doing what's right, no matter the cost."

He sighed. "She knows you might not be able to live to be wed, but she still loves you. She loves you for more than just carrying her through Lord Jabu-Jabu, Kit. She loved you even more after she got to know you, and she knows that you wouldn't let anything hurt her. She feels safe with you…Even though you don't want to wed her anymore…you're still a daughter to me."

She hugged him, used to the slick skin of the Zora because she'd been around them long enough. For goodness sake's she'd hugged nearly every one of them at one point or another! "Thank you, King… but I just have a feeling that this won't work out. I'm sorry."

"Do not be; you are courageous for coming directly to me to discuss this…You two must come to the final decision, not I."

She sighed. "I understand."

"That's my girl." He spoke fondly. "Make sure when you see her you tell her that her father loves her, and don't tarry in discussing this most delicate matter with her."

"I won't delay it more than necessary." She smiled. "I promise."

"And…I love you too. Be careful. And once this is all over, you're still considered honorary Zora royalty." She was shocked and touched at the same time. She gave a smile and hugged him once more.

"I love you too, king. I'll be as careful as I can, and after this is all over I'll definitely be coming back here as soon as I can." He nodded.

"Here, for the Hero and for you, the Heroine, for saving me." He handed two Zora tunics to her, and she gave him a final squeeze, a bit confused at what he'd called her.

'_The Heroine? Is he joking? I am no hero.'_

"Goodbye, Kit." She smiled, nodded her respectful goodbye, and then left the throne room in a decidedly better mood. She was actually half-singing half-humming Epona's song when she came upon Link who was trying not to look at the horrific sight of the Zora encased in the ice. She had enough self-control to not look for the sake of keeping her anger in check.

"Well, you're happy." He spoke, a bit confused.

"Did he call the engagement off?" The fairy asked lightly.

"No, he did not Navi. Ruto and I have to settle that amongst ourselves. And…Well, let's just say that I have a place where I'll be accepted now. It won't ever be my home, but even though the engagement's probably going to be off the king still considers me his daughter, and I'm honorary royalty among the Zora as well." She shrugged. "It wasn't as bad as I envisioned it."

"That's because all you ever expect is the worst."

She rolled her eyes. "When haven't I been at least partially right? Ruto might still freak out. I'm not out of trouble yet." She frowned. Link knew she had a heart so she couldn't bear to hurt Ruto deeply—but her common sense and logical side fought with that decision as well, telling her this had to be done. All he could do was console her and tell her everything would be all right, and if push came to shove he would talk to Ruto himself. The princess was his friend too, which was natural because she knew even after this ended Kit and he were too close to just abandon each other, and listened to him. She had come to him often to ask about her when they had stopped here.

"That may be true but she has sense."

The redhead nodded, and sighed. "…Well, we might as well make our way to Lake Hylia, eh? That's where the water temple lies. Oh yeah! And the king gave us these," She handed him his tunic, which was a great deal larger than hers. Hers had obviously been custom-made, and they had been extremely accurate on how her body would grow. She was actually amazed for a moment that it looked almost like she had gone in for fittings for it. She supposed Ruto had been involved with how this enchanted tunic came to be.

It had silver thread woven through the hems on the sleeves and the bottom of the shirt, as well, in the shape of waves, and it even held the royal seal of the Zora in the center of the chest. It held no rough string or any string to tie it in closer at the neck; instead it held silver-coloured clasps. she was pleased that the royal seal was all silver, that signified both that she was close to the king and that she was an honorary member, otherwise the seal would have been bronze or in normal, non-metallic thread.

"Yours is a lot fancier than mine." He pouted.

"I can't help that, Link. Besides, the decorum on one's clothing means nothing with what we're doing." She folded the tunic gently and placed it in her pack, and then smiled at him as he did the same with his own. "All right, then. Let's get going. When we arrive at Lake Hylia we'll have to change into our new tunics."

"Oh yeah, and I found these." He opened their Bag of Holding, which while being hung on the dark leather belt around her hips wasn't too awkwardly opened as they were around each other quite a lot, and he brought out two dark-grey and apparently heavy metal things that would go over his boots.

"Huh…Let me guess, we'll need them to traverse the temple?"

"Well, yes…I'm a great deal more buoyant than you." He spoke as if embarrassed.

"I'm merely more used to swimming underwater, Link. And it won't matter if the water's as deep as I think it might be." She had obviously thought about it a great deal. "…Well, we'd better get going." When they exited it was light out, and Kit was relieved beyond words. She didn't particularly like the dark, per se, but she would and could endure it. Navi flew out of Link's hat and was now floating by the blonde's forest-green capped head.

They walked along the path they'd followed into the place and then exited back onto Hyrule Field. Just because they preferred travelling when it was dark didn't mean they always did.

Link got out his Ocarina, and before he put his lips to it, she smiled. She had the Fairy Ocarina, if only for the sake of teaching her the songs as she was a fast learner when it came to music, even faster than Link himself at times.

"I'm going to sing along, okay?" He nodded, and put the instrument to his lips.

Her voice rose and fell with the Ocarina, both of them swaying a bit to the music. He loved her mature voice; she was quite a good singer, actually. She had told him once that she'd taught herself with some books out of the schoolhouse's small library in order to pass the time and lift her spirits, but she'd never really had a teacher. The orb of light that had been flying about his head had gone nearer to the redhead and bobbed along to the music.

Epona came galloping and stopped perfectly four feet in front of them about ten minutes later, obviously happy to see her master and mistress.

"Aww, how's my girl?" Link patted her on the snout, earning a small gentle nudge in the shoulder. Kit pet her too, only she got her fingers nibbled on instead of a tiny head-butt. Epona knew when and when not to nudge them, and Kit was still injured. The jostling from riding Epona would _not_ help but perhaps she could haggle some red potion away from the old scientist residing in the lakeside laboratory, or maybe from the captain that ran the fishing pond. Or she could deal with the wound, yes, that could very well work too.

She sighed and waited for Link to get up on the saddle, and she placed a kiss on Epona's forehead. "We're going to Lake Hylia, okay girl?"

The mare gave a snort and then a short shake of the head. In Epona-language that meant 'Okay, let's go then!'.

She climbed atop the horse to sit on to what space was left on the custom-made and rather ornate saddle, and she cursed inwardly and bit her tongue the whole way up. Ruto wouldn't be too happy with her new speaking habit, but she had cursed even back then, since she was considered an adult and had gotten used to being treated as such, and she would try to hide it from the princess as best she could. She could make no promises, even to herself, if her wounds kept on like this though.

"Are you sure you don't want the front spot this time? I could still steer."

"Nah, I'll be fine." She grimaced as the wound on her shoulder gave a twinge, but she didn't feel wet warmth on the surrounding skin so she assumed it wasn't bleeding through the bandages yet. She wrapped her arms around his waist, regretting her decision to stay where she was a little bit now that she thought about how rough the trip would be, fences included. "Let's just go."

With a "Hyaah!" and a short yelp from the redhead, they were off towards southern Hyrule, where Lake Hylia lay.

* * *

**K.L.K- So? What do you think?**

**Link-…So, instead of Ruto being engaged to me through the Zora Sapphire…**

**Kit- You passed that onto me.**

**K.L.K- Essentially so, yes. Since Ruto admired Link in OoT for being able to defeat the monsters in Jabu-Jabu's belly and for saving and carrying her, I left Kit to that because she wanted to have Link have as much of a chance as he could to beat the monsters. That and since she had been fighting for longer than he had, she could work around the problem of carrying Ruto and fighting. Besides, he already has so many women vying for his attention…**

**Link- Ah… I see.**

**K.L.K- That and Navi wagered a bet that Kit wasn't strong enough. (Snickers)**

**Navi- Well… I didn't think she could.**

**Kit- (smirks) Hah. I won that bet. (Smirk disappears) She doesn't like me much, does she?**

**K.L.K- Nope. As far as she's concerned you're some extra that shouldn't be intruding on the Hero of Time's quest. And the people of Hyrule are rather set in their ways, so of course you—with your odd colouring and point of view—would be something different, uncontrollable and unpredictable to them. The Zora are more…um… reasonable, obviously.**

**Kit- Easily. So, what's with the title?**

**K.L.K-…We're getting to that.**

**Kit- In the next chapter?**

**K.L.K- Possibly. Depends how much detail I want to put into the Water temple—which in all honesty is a jerk in most of the games, more so Twilight Princess than OoT—and if I decide I'll be nice about you getting some red potion.**

**Kit- I don't care either way. Dealing with a wound's fine, and that vile stuff is easily bypassed.**

**K.L.K-…Indeed.**

**Link- (feeling sort of left out) Hey, just for them, (points to the vastly confused Readers) When did she find me, exactly?**

**K.L.K- You were working on Dodondogo's Cavern, and when you came out for supplies and food she was waiting with a letter from Zelda to confirm that she had indeed been sent to help you.**

**Link- (nods) She also dragged me into the Goron City to make sure all my wounds were clean.**

**Kit- And you whined like a toddler who touched the stove after being told not to.**

**K.L.K- (grinning behind one hand) Okay, okay…Wari, Wari, I don't want a spar or even a play-fight in here.**

**Kit/Link- Fine…**

**K.L.K- Alrighty, please review!**


	2. Kit and Ruto's reunion, Dark's entrance

**Darkness Doesn't Necessarily Mark One as Evil**

* * *

**RATING:** T

**SUMMARY:** Kit knew all too well that things were not as they seem. Darkness didn't always mean evil, light didn't always mean good, and just because someone had been controlled didn't mean they didn't deserve a second chance. OC warning! Femmslash/Possible Yaoi

**AUTHORESS'S NOTE:** I just finished editing the first chapter, and since I'm not tired enough to sleep quite yet, I figured I'd get a head-start on the second chappie while I'm up and at it. On a side note, I love the whole Dark Link/Link dynamic some writers portray; and others send shivers down my spine and make me chuckle. Anywho, let's get this on the road!

**DISCLAIMER:** Oh, for Naryu's love! I don't own anything except Kit and whatever random person I choose to make up to suit my needs!

* * *

Kit bit her tongue as Epona galloped; he was trying to make her pain last a shorter period of time, at least, but it was hell. She had a hand pressed to the wound at her side, and she held on with her injured arm for all she was worth. _'I should have taken the front seat.'_ She could swear that she could taste blood in her mouth, but she knew that she hadn't bitten her tongue nearly hard enough. Now, if she had bitten the inside of her cheeks, then that would be a different story all together.

Her arm grasped Link's waist tightly as they approached the fences. It had been two hours of pure torture as she tried not to vocalize the pain of the jostling Epona's gait gave to her riders. Usually she didn't mind it so much, having gotten rather used to riding behind the blonde as this was their only mode of transportation other than walking everywhere or teleporting via warp song, but she'd almost forgotten how badly this type of movement agitated a wound.

As the equestrian they were riding cleared the first fence, she bit her tongue a bit, the muscle becoming sore, and on the second one she buried her face into the Hero's green-clad shoulder, muffling a scream as the new, tender, and far-too delicate scar tissue and scabs that had managed to form on her side-wound ripped. She felt hot tears of pain soak into Link's shirt, but he didn't say anything loudly.

She heard mumbles like "Sorry, I'm so sorry." Over and over again, but she just tightened her grasp, pressed her hand on the lump of bandages and cotton, and hid her pained face from the world as she trembled. It would have been more bearable had it not been agitated and sore from the day's activities, but she had to grin and bear it for now. They'd needed to get to the lake; and the only thing that would stop them was her injuries. He slipped off Epona after a few more minutes, and she simply lay down halfway on the saddle, still clutching her side with her free hand in a fist so tight the dark leather of her gauntlets was almost stretching and her knuckles were white.

"I'll be back; I'm going to go try to get some red potion from the old guy, okay?"

She bit her lip and nodded; unable to open her mouth for fear that she would only worry him more for making a noise that betrayed how much pain she was going through at the moment. Epona walked around slowly; gently for a little bit before settling for some tufts of grass.

"Good girl." She stroked the short orange-tinged chestnut fur, the horse neighing in an almost-apology. "It's okay. I know you didn't want to hurt me. I'll be fine." She spoke softly to her, patting her. Epona and Link were closer, that was true, but she had a bond with this horse as well. She had been to the ranch less when they were littler, that was all, but she still loved the horse.

Soon Link returned with a bottle that was half-full of red potion, undiluted in all its slimy glory. She pushed herself into a seated position, taking her hand off her side and yelped—removing the pressure meant that a new type of pain came dancing onto her nerve endings, which was the bandages slowly coming away from the wound.

She uncorked the bottle and gave a half-hearted grin, which was all she could muster. "Bottoms up." She downed it in one gulp, almost retching at the bitter, sour taste and moreover the slimy texture of the potion as it slid down her throat. But, fortunately, she managed to hold it back. She could feel her skin knitting back together, and she relaxed considerably.

Sliding off the horse, she undid the ties at the sides once more to untie the blood-soaked bandages around her midsection, dropping them onto the grass uncaringly after wiping all the blood she could from her skin. If they needed washed, it would have to be after the lake was refilled. She shrugged off her gear and the shoulder of her top after undoing the clasps and buckles and untying the ties at the top, and untied the bandages there.

She was rather glad that there was barely a scar left in both locations, and the new skin felt strong. The scars were barely a eighth of the size the wounds had been. They would probably heal over and become normal skin in two weeks or more, it depended on many variants at this point and she couldn't come up with a certain estimate. She then grabbed the hem of her shirt, noticing Link was changing into his blue tunic, so she retrieved it from her own pack, quickly pawing aside her much-too-large plain Goron tunic, and then changed into it in record time.

He blinked when he saw that she had changed her top already, and was then fixing her gear back on top of it. He fixed his new blue cap atop his head, glad the King had thought of it. He took comfort in his hat, as he had grown up with the comfortable weight on his head.

"You look…" His face was one of awe.

She looked over at him curiously. Her hair shone in the sun and enhanced her colouring further, and the tunic was perfect for her. It went down to her mid-thigh, and the way it was cut and made enhanced her form, especially her small waist. She looked almost like the royalty she would be if she had decided to marry Ruto—but she did so in an almost dangerous way. The dark colours of the pants and leather made the tunic brighter, almost, and it showed her hair and eyes off rather well. The silver matched the earrings in her ears and the metal bits on her gear. It was also low enough to show some of her cleavage, enough for her to be satisfied with it. He had gotten used to her slightly odd way of dressing over time, but it always slightly shocked the Hylian people that saw her in Kakariko.

"I look what?"

"You look beautiful." He smiled earnestly, and she smiled back. He was like her brother, and knew she didn't think very much on her looks even though she was very pretty; and she didn't have to opt for makeup and new hairstyles like some did. She was pretty even in rags—he knew. He'd seen her that way more than once, especially after a temple or after a long fight.

"Thanks brother." She mumbled. She hadn't had any siblings before her family died, Link knew, so that it was an honor to truly be considered family in her eyes. He considered her his sister, too, so it worked out.

He gave a joking smile. "I think the Gorons are rubbing off on you, sis." He then began to put a quick waterproofing enchantment on their gear, as leather tended to soak up water.

She rolled her eyes after he had finished. He was the one that was better in enchantments, really; she was better at sensing changes in magic, however. "Right. If I try to eat a rock do me a favor and smack me, would you?"

"I'd do it right now if you'd like!" Navi piped up as she came into view, having been in Link's hat for the fast, rough ride. A tinkling sound confirmed that she laughed, and they couldn't help but to laugh too.

They then ditched their packs on Epona, taking only the essentials and the weapons in their Bag of Holding, which she would keep on her waist. She always did, because she'd been the one to actually find it, and he felt awkward with it on his belt. It was also waterproof, which was a nice feature of it.

"Ruto definitely had a hand in making that tunic." He smiled, and the redhead nodded as they started across the bridge.

"I know she did. I'll make sure to thank her before I discuss what needs to be with her." She spoke lightly, even though the words carried an iron weight. When they reached the island Kit walked over to the tree. She rubbed her hand across the claw marks which were a mystery in themselves—how they got to be here, they'll probably never find out. A soft thud behind her made her eyes soften as she turned.

"Ah, Sheik." She walked over and took both his hands in hers, and gave them a slight squeeze. Even though Link and Navi couldn't tell, he was smiling underneath that cowl and that bang of hair. His red eyes were happy. He squeezed her hands back in their way of a greeting before they dropped their hands back to their sides.

"Kit. I see you're still in good health." His eyes wandered over her form as if to confirm that assumption and immediately spotted the seal on her chest, only about two inches in width but still vividly visible. "The Zora's royal crest…?" He pondered on the colour. He knew what it meant, having dealt with the different races at one time or another.

"Ah…Yes." She coughed a bit. "Remember how I said that getting the sapphire had been an odd experience?"

He gave a tiny nod.

"Well, apparently the Zora use it as the royal 'engagement ring'." She air-quoted the last two words. "Since I carried Ruto throughout the entirety of Jabu-Jabu's belly, protected her, and didn't leave her, she apparently fell in love with me enough to give the stone." Her cheeks were tinged red with embarrassment for not telling him sooner. "We needed it and I couldn't put the quest at risk, so I had no choice but to accept."

"Ah. So that is why she wants to see you and keeps asking if her love is here yet." He monotoned. "I thought she had meant Link."

"I…I don't love her, not the way she does me. I talked it over with her father and he knows I'll do what's right—I just can't do this to her or myself. We would be able to have children, thanks to an enchantment the Zora possess knowledge of, but…" She shook her head.

"I understand. She's a friend but you couldn't end it before."

"Correct. Neither she nor I had the power to do so back then, since we were children. Once the stone was given, it was a sealed deal until we were older and could decide things for ourselves."

He nodded. "But still, you didn't think to bring this up sooner?"

"Well, it didn't exactly hold any relevance. I'm sorry, Sheik."

"It's fine. Now I know why the townspeople got a bit more hateful after you returned from getting the Sapphire."

She shrugged. "Anyway, the king and I are close in a familial sense, and he isn't going to need the marriage to be able to claim me, somewhat, as his adopted daughter. I'm also apparently still considered as honorary royalty among the Zora. I don't want to be, but I can't go against his wishes and even if I did I still would be."

He nodded. "I'm glad for you. She has missed you, though."

"I know. Where is she? The temple?"

"Naturally. It's the only place I can keep her safe." He spoke as if it was the most sensible thing in the whole world.

"Right. Don't rub it in buddy." She rolled her eyes. She ignored him while he was doing his little speech, and then he got out his harp. Now _this_ was the part of their meetings she always looked forward to. He played the warp song and she immediately fell in love with the tune, as she had each and every song they had learned in this journey. Link put the Ocarina of Time to his lips and she took in a breath. Their music echoed across the mostly empty lake, two instruments and one voice blending together. They played it over and over until it was deeply ingrained into their memories.

"This is the Serenade of Water." Sheik spoke, his red eye closed. "Use it well, Hero." He opened his eyes—well, his visible eye opened at least—and centered on Kit. "By the way…Some people have taken to calling you the Heroine."

"I've noticed." She nodded. "King Zora did so as well. How many people are?"

"…The Zora, of course, and even some of the Gorons. A few Hylians at the camp are beginning to as well. It only makes sense, since you are on this quest as well."

She gave a short nod. "Okay. Be careful."

"I will." He smiled, and in the flash of a Deku nut, he was gone. Kit had shielded her eyes whereas Navi was screeching about how he just _had_ to do that every time he disappeared, and Link was frozen for a little bit, having forgotten how Sheik liked to make his exit.

"Oh, come now Navi. Sheik has more important things to do than hold us up at the beginning of each temple." She rolled her eyes. "Right…Now, how do we get in?" She peered over the side and her eyes widened. "Oh yeah!" She started sliding down the side of the island and Link followed curiously. At the bottom where there was still water she pointed at the gate. "I think we need the hookshot." He nodded, and then donned his Iron boots then sank to the bottom of the lake. She took a breath—even though she knew she wouldn't need it—and dove underwater, quickly catching up to him. Kit was glad that she was able to swim a great deal better than Link was able to.

He nodded and she smiled at him underwater. She decided to try to talk, just to see what would happen. "Hey, Link!"

It was only a little muffled because of the water, and he grinned. Even though they could breathe underwater due to the enchantment, neither of them felt the water flow into their lungs. That was good.

"Okay, we can talk. That's going to be useful." He aimed the hookshot and then clicked the release button, sending it forward. It struck the trigger-crystal and it changed colours, signifying that it was activated. The gate opened and she started swimming towards it, Link having a bit of trouble with the Iron Boots equipped, but he still managed. Maybe it would be easier to not use these things, he groused inwardly.

XxXxXxXxX

After they had gone through the central area, not really sightseeing as they had a duty to do, Link looked down the hole. They'd gone to the right from the central area.

"Well, start sinking down. I'll follow." Her wet hair hung down her back in wet waves, stopping just short of being able to be sat on. The tunic looked dry in water and dried quickly otherwise, but it still let water in. Her clothes were soaked but she could deal with it, and the waterproofing charm had kept the inside of her boots dry, thankfully enough. It did the same for his.

"Got it." He slipped on the Iron boots and sunk into the hole, and she started swimming down too, quickly passing him. She reached the bottom first and gasped. "Ruto!" she had apparently been pacing the hall's length in worry.

"Kit, my love!" The female Zora rushed forward and hugged the redhead tightly, embracing her as if she would never let go.

"Hello Ruto…" She hugged her back and patted her back. Her shoulders shook almost as if she was…crying? She couldn't tell. She also had a gnawing feeling at her gut at what Ruto had called her.

"I missed you so much." Link finally touched down and ignored the private moment, opting to stare at a wall. "I thought you may have died." She wiped her eyes—although tears in the water were indistinguishable—and she smiled. "You look gorgeous in that tunic."

The wet red hair floated easily behind her, and the ease at which she moved in the water was impressive. Ruto kept her down on the floor of the room, thankfully enough, as she didn't want to tread water for the entire time they would be talking. "Thank you. I have a most delicate matter to discuss with you, Ruto."

She smiled brightly. "Okay, sure!" She chirped, holding the redhead's hand in her own. The girl allowed it because not only had Ruto been obviously worried sick, she was going to not react well. Already, she could tell.

"Link…" He nodded and walked further down the hall. Kit turned her attention back to Ruto. "…Ruto, we have to end the engagement." She winced at how weak her voice sounded. She really didn't want to hurt the Princess, truly, but this had to be done. Hopefully Ruto could see how torn up she was.

"W…Why?" Both her hands were grasped tightly in the Zora's hands. She had grown up to be beautiful, Kit noticed, but she just couldn't go through with this.

"…Because. I can't stand hurting you like this." She started off with a sigh. "I might not live through this endeavor, you must understand…And you deserve better than I. Not only that, but I have a duty even above aiding Link. It is to my heart and to doing what is right."

She bit her lip, her eyes piercing the reddish brown, almost feeling like she was peering into the redhead's soul. "I understand that you might not be alive after all is said and done…And you have far more worth than you give yourself credit to." She spoke the last bit sternly.

"I realize that, but then that may lead to hesitation…and hesitation can be deadly even in the smallest amounts." She sighed, running her thumb over Ruto's knuckles.

"I know you want to do what's right, and I respect and love you for it. I love you for more than just what you did for me in Lord Jabu-Jabu's belly, Kit. That is why I have cherished the time we have spent together." She smiled at the redhead.

"…I talked to your father; by the way…We freed him from the red ice." She spoke lowly. "He says that he loves you, but he left the decision up to us on whether or not the engagement still stands. Ruto, please… I cannot do this to you or myself."

"…You don't love me." She looked like she was going to cry.

"No, I do love you; just not in the way you ask of me. I love you as a dear friend, one of the dearest I have had. You took care of me and loved me like no other person has dared to in my life, and you looked past my appearance and questionable ancestry. You gave me a place I was accepted, Ruto, with the Zora. For that, I am eternally grateful. But I must do what is right." She spoke the last bit with such conviction the princess was soothed.

The woman she had chosen to give the stone to had not only proven her worth time and time again—she held an intelligence and common sense that was useful and well developed. She had a strong sense of wrong and right, and she had lived through so much that she knew she had an inner strength most would never be able to have. She also felt the urge to do what was right…even if it ended up hurting herself.

"…I understand." She sighed, and her lip trembled. She had thought that the redhead would marry her after Ganondorf had been slain, but apparently it was not to be so. "…Can we come to a final decision later? We will meet again, I assure you. I just need…"

"Some time to think?" She offered. The princess nodded, and dropped the redhead's hands, which went to her shoulders. "Ruto, you grew up to be one of the most gorgeous Zora I have ever seen. Do not doubt yourself. Do what you know is right and what must be done." The princess nodded before hugging her once more.

"…You're still my love, Kit. That is something that cannot be dissipated so easily as an engagement."

The redhead hugged her back after a moment. "…I know, Ruto. I know. I'm sorry."

They walked to meet Link, Ruto looking lost in thought and a bit upset, and with Kit looking relieved that she hadn't had to incapacitate the Princess before she had hurt her or herself. The female Zora smiled at them, told them to be careful, and swam off.

Link looked at his redheaded 'adopted' sister. "…You okay?"

"It went more smoothly than I had originally thought." She allowed. "However, she needs some time to think about it. She knows we will meet again, however, so I allowed her that much."

He smiled. "You're a good woman for doing so."

"Yeah, yeah. Now let's get going." Navi chimed her assent from the bubble Link had thought to put around her so she could breathe.

XxXxXxXxX

Many rooms later and many defeated enemies later, they approached a door and Kit gave a shiver. They all knew what that involuntary reaction was; she sensed magic, and apparently it was a large amount of said energy. They entered a room and found that it was a large, eerily empty space.

All it had was a small island of sand in the middle which had a creepy, dark-wooded dead tree in the center of it. The floor was apparently covered in water—it barely reached her ankle, however, so it wasn't that much of a hindrance. White fog made the room seem to go on forever, but she sensed that this was an illusion. She walked over to one of the sides with her hand placed out with her palm flat and soon found the wall. "This room isn't as big as it looks, Link." She called softly.

"This place gives me the creeps!" The fairy's wings sank down low. Kit knew that the wings didn't need to flap for fairies to fly, but it was a bit disconcerting. She walked with Link over to the opposite door from where they had come in and found it barred with those damned iron bars that seemed to be in their way at every turn in temples. Her back stiffened as she turned around, whilst Link was kicking the door and grumbling curses. She felt a change in the energy within this room, and she didn't like it one bit. They slowly and cautiously went back to the other door…Only to find it barred too. She turned her head to the side enough to look behind her, convinced she felt eyes on her form—and her breath hitched in the back of her throat.

"L…Link…" She whispered, her throat dry all of a sudden.

"Link, there's someone behind you!" Navi screeched in his ear which made him flip around and draw his sword and shield in a flash. He was the only one with a shield right now—Kit had lost hers during the fight with Volvagia, and hadn't gotten a replacement quite yet. It honestly reminded her of the days before she had met Link; she hadn't had a shield until she'd met him.

"Who are you?" He asked, his face carefully kept blank. No answer came from the raven-haired teen.

The figure looked almost exactly like Link—except for a few differences. The colouring, mainly. The other teenaged male wore a black tunic with black leather gear—such as gauntlets, belts, and the like—with white tights and the white undershirt akin to the one Link wore underneath his blue tunic. He had no shield, and his face was blank, almost creepily so. His eyes didn't have any focus or pupil in them at all, and they were crimson, his hair a glossy deep black. His skin was pale and held a greyish tinge, most likely from never seeing the sunlight. Or perhaps his skin tone was just like that. Some would even venture so far as to say that it looked tainted with darkness. His blade was a replica of the Master Sword—only it was ebony-coloured. An ebony blade, she decided she'd call it.

She didn't draw her blade, taking the hint that Link was the one to fight him. She noticed that his reflection was gone—but then again, this place was a place of illusionary trickery. It meant nothing. "Link…This is your fight." She went to stand in a corner. "He's being controlled…He isn't aware of you, per se, it seems as though all Ganondorf needed was control of his body. It's as though he's supposed to represent a dark version of you…"

He stiffened, and then the raven-haired boy leapt, slashing at him with his sword. He blocked with his shield, grunting from the force behind the attack. Kit silently closed her eyes and bit her lip. Not her fight. If she opened her eyes, it would only encourage her to interfere, and that could have some serious consequences.

For awhile, she steeled her reserve as she listened to the clashing steel, once in awhile a sound or gasp of slight pain from Link—not a scream though—made her twitch, but soon she opened her eyes and watched the fight progress. She was soon trailing behind them, interested in how the 'Shadow' of Link fought. His skills were roughly the same as the Hero's—but he lacked a shield and almost all the gadgets he owned. Soon she saw the sight of the black-clothed teen impaled through the chest by the blade of evil's bane, and Link uncaringly pushed him off with his booted foot.

She was staring into the red eyes and her eyes widened, seeing emotions such as pain, confusion, and sadness, along with a pupil growing in the middle of the red. _'…Controlled…_' She thought absently, the back of her right hand itching and growing warm. He landed in the water with a pained grunt, tears leaking from his eyes, the blood beginning to spread. She felt something in her heart clench, and it set her adrenaline rushing. She couldn't think straight.

Link swung his sword to decapitate the red-eyed teen only to have his blade caught in the right hand of his redheaded companion. He hadn't even seen her move, really, having closed his eyes. "K-Kit?" He gasped, seeing the fiercely protective look in her eyes, blazing and almost burning into his cerulean eyes. She wrenched the sword from his grasp and threw it aside, her gauntlet getting caught and going with it. Her eyes grew wide at that, and in that instant he saw what was underneath the gauntlet.

A dark triangle was on the back of her wounded hand, and it was pulsating with a light glow. He looked down to his hand, where underneath the gauntlet it bore the mark for the Triforce of Courage. His blue eyes moved back to her emotionally darkened orbs. "…Kit… He took a step forward and her eyes blazed. He took a step back, keeping his hands up in the sign for surrender. When she got like this it was best not to interfere.

She reached into their Bag of Holding and dug down into the depths of it, and brought out a bottle that held an orb of pink light with wings.

"What are you doing?" The high-pitched screech went unheeded by the one it was directed at as the uncorked the bottle and pointed it down towards the gaping would in the dying boy's chest. As the fairy began its work something hit the redhead on the side of the face. She looked over to see a rather pissed off fairy, judging on how the light was red-tinged. "What. Are. You doing? And what's that on the back of your hand, eh?" She knocked into her forehead, hard. Kit bit her lip but didn't push the fairy away.

"…I don't know what this mark is." She sighed, starting off with the thing that she had hidden for the longest. "When I woke up in the Sacred Realm, I had it, just like you did with yours. I suspect, however, that it's the supposedly empty spot in the middle of the triforce; a by-product. It may not even hold any power, but apparently the goddesses found it appropriate to designate it to me and to bring me here to join you on your quest." She itched at the thing absently. "It's not even considered a piece, I suppose; but I guess something has to be there to secure the pieces all together."

"…Why are you saving him?" Link asked, and she frowned.

"Didn't you look into his eyes? Or listen to me at the beginning of the fight? He was being controlled, Link. He wasn't doing this of his own will. When you stabbed him in the chest…When he began to die, his pupils came back. He made a noise of pain, and I saw humanity in his eyes…I'm doing what I feel is right. I will not allow you to hurt him." She growled the last bit.

"But he's evil! Look at him, he's practically darkness!" The fairy screeched in her ear, and this earned an angered swat, the first in a long time. Navi hit Link's chest with a huff.

She gave a deep frown. "Darkness doesn't necessarily mark one as evil, _fairy_," She spat. "I could be said to be like darkness, right? I wear the colours, certainly enough, on a regular basis. I even have _this_," She raised her hand up, the triangle blaring out on her pale skin. "And it could be considered darkness because it's a dark patch of skin. Sheik and Impa aren't evil, are they? And they're members of a shadow race…Stop believing in stereotypes such as that; it's childish to think darkness equals evil." She wiped the hair out of the dark-haired boy's eyes gently, the eyelids beginning to flutter open. After they opened the crimson looked up into her dark, warm brown orbs that met his confusion, frustration and overall sadness with kindness, concern and gentleness that he clung to her in an instant like a frightened child does to one's mother. She couldn't blame him, either.

"Shh, Shh…" She tried to soothe him as he cried, his wails piercing the room as the illusion faded. They were in a plain room, the blue-ish stone damp. "It's fine. It's fine…You're not under anyone else's control but your own anymore, I'm here."

He cried for ten minutes, and she hadn't made a move to leave him at all, afraid he might not take it well since he was in a delicate state. "T…Thank you." He spoke, his voice just a bit deeper than Link's, smoother. It was hoarse from crying.

She leaned back and sat cross-legged. "Are you okay?"

"I…I'm better than I was. I didn't like that feeling. It was scary."

"Being controlled?" He bit his lip and nodded. "…I haven't been alive for very long." He spoke hesitantly. "That scary man made me and then forced me to stay here. I could see everything, but I couldn't do anything. I didn't even know why I'm here or how long I've been here." His lip began to wobble again, and she went over to his side, and she wrapped an arm around his shoulders. He had copied her sitting position, so it was a great deal more comfortable than their position had been before. Link had stayed near them, trying to comfort the other male as best he could.

"It's fine. His control's broken over you. I can't sense his magic anymore." She muttered softly. "What's your name?"

"…I don't have one." He spoke in a tiny voice.

She frowned. "Well, that's not going to do! Since you look like my 'adopted' brother over there," She jacked a thumb in his direction, air-quoting the 'adopted', "How about Dark Link…No, no. Not all of that…How about just Dark?" She suggested brightly.

He looked at her with happy eyes and hugged her again. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" He was so happy he had a name—he felt like he truly existed. He wasn't just a puppet for that nasty man. He was Dark. Not a shadow of someone or some mindless look-alike. Dark.

She patted him on the back. "Its fine, Dark. It's fine. Come here, Link." He came over and kneeled down on the floor. She decided to do some proper introductions even though the point seemed to be moot. "Dark, this is Link. Link, Dark. Navi," The little orb of light chimed to bring Dark's attention to her. "This is Dark."

"Hi." He waved a bit shyly.

"Hi…" Link blinked, and after she was poked by the blonde the fairy grudgingly gave a hello.

"Do you want to go outside?" She asked, and he nodded.

"I…All I've known is this place, though." He seemed depressed by that thought and a bit cautious of leaving.

"Don't worry. I'll teach you what you need to know once we get out of here. By the way…" She smiled. "My name's Kit."

"You're pretty, Kit." He giggled innocently. She laughed and flashed him a smile.

"Thank you. Now, come along… We have a duty to fulfill."

"…What's the duty?" He asked innocently, and Link rolled his eyes and took the lead, letting Kit take care of their new companion. He trusted her judgment and had also noticed that the other young man hadn't been quite all-there during the battle. In the next room they got the longshot—which according to the redhead would be of much use. The hookshot had a rather short reach at times.

XxXxXxXxX

After finding out that Dark had his own Zora Tunic, he was able to follow them through the entire temple. Unfortunately this included in either having him clinging onto Link so he wouldn't float away or by having Kit drag him everywhere—which wasn't so bad, really, except for her hair kept getting caught on the buckles of his gear—but he fought well. She supposed that his skill was truly up to par with Link's, which would be a welcome help. She was a good fighter too, but there were some things she had a disadvantage with. Such as anything height-related, because she was only five-three, and anything that had to do with weight because she wasn't all that heavy.

Whenever they came across Rupees she placed them in her own pockets, explaining that now that Dark was with them he would need things of his own, and that she could take a mission from Sheik or someone to raise more money to appease the bubble-encased fairy. The black-haired male rarely stayed by himself, having gotten enough of being alone in that horrid room.

Soon they entered the boss room. Kit had dragged Dark up the slope as he had stared reproachfully at the blade-traps that moved. He seemed a lot better than he had back in that room—he wasn't too shy, but he was almost childlike.

'_He learns quickly.'_ Indeed, he soaked up information more readily than a sponge with water. She would barely have to teach him anything once outside the temple. He had known a few things, but it was all information on fighting, gear, monsters, and just basic knowledge. Thank goodness she didn't need to give him 'the talk' like she had had to with Link.

Her hands felt oddly naked without her gauntlets, which were in the Bag of Holding…She would have to try to sell them at Kakariko next, she knew, because she needed new ones anyway. She'd had the same ones through two temples, and to be honest she was shocked they'd survived that long, as they weren't enchanted with protective charms as Link's were. Or maybe she could get them mended…

She heard splashing noises and nudged Dark behind her. "We're going to have to fight a monster, okay?" He nodded. "Be careful." She saw the spikes covering one of the walls and did _not_ like where this was going.

She kept him back in a corner, telling him to wait until they knew the pattern and weak point of the boss, and he listened. She walked along the pool's edge, seeing that there were ladders underneath the water that led up to the four square platforms. The water held a strange energy, and she could nearly feel it moving about. She got a queer feeling of something squishy, gelatin-like in mass. She was concentrating so hard that she didn't realize there was a transparent purplish-blue-ish tentacle rising up out of the water behind her.

"Kit!" Link shouted, and she turned around just in time to have the tentacle wrap itself around her and jerk her off her feet.

* * *

**K.L.K- Okay, I think I'll stop there for this chapter.**

**Kit- What? Oh, you're just pure evil…**

**K.L.K- (eyebrow raise)…So?**

**Kit- (twitch)…Anyway, so Ruto got a little more time to think it through?**

**K.L.K- Yeah. And Dark's there too, finally. I started this fanfiction with the entire purpose of saving him from his fate.**

**Link- Is this going to end up Dark Link/Link, or did you just draw inspiration from those other stories?**

**K.L.K-…I'm not going to say.**

**Link- (sticks his tongue out)**

**Kit- Spoilsport.**

**K.L.K- (rolls eyes) Mm-hm…(joins Dark on the couch)**

**Dark- This is delicious! (Bites into a slice of pizza)**

**K.L.K- Well, you were hungry. I suppose practically dying then being brought back by a fairy does that to a person. I also didn't include much of the Water Temple because, to be honest, it would take SO LONG to get the details out and then it wouldn't be any fun to write.**

**Link-…Ah. I see.**

**Kit- Well, since the Authoress said I could do it this time…Please review.**

**K.L.K- (beams) for once they're not just cutting me off! WHOO! (Fist pump)**

**Dark- … (looks at mostly empty bag of Wint-o-green Lifesavers but says nothing)**


	3. Morpha Playtime's over, Fire Arrow

**Darkness Doesn't Necessarily Mark One as Evil**

**RATING:** T

**SUMMARY:** Kit knew all too well that things were not as they seem. Darkness didn't always mean evil, light didn't always mean good, and just because someone had been controlled didn't mean they didn't deserve a second chance. OC warning! Femmslash/Possible Yaoi

**AUTHORESS'S NOTE:** After that tiny cliffy, I ish back! I really don't know where the inspiration to write this is coming from, but meh. Why ask, ne? I hope you guys are enjoying this fanfic.

**DISCLAIMER:** Oh, for Naryu's love! I don't own anything except Kit and whatever random person I choose to make up to suit my needs!

* * *

"SHIT!" She bellowed as the thing constricted its hold, leaving her gasping for breath, surprised her ribcage didn't collapse. Black was edging her vision and she was struggling weakly when she was suddenly released onto the hard stone floor. "O…Oww… F…Fuck…" She saw blue sparks in her vision as she breathed heavily but she backpedaled until she hit a wall. "What is that thing?"

"…I dunno." Dark shrugged, pressing himself further back into the corner. He did NOT want to be grabbed by that thing. She warily watched it as Link cut tentacle after tentacle—and then she sprung to her feet as a red center showed itself.

'_That's gotta be it!'_ She slashed and hacked at it with her sword and it squealed in pain, wrenching back. She gave a victorious grin but was then batted into a wall. "Oww…This thing has no decency…" She groaned as she got up. The two male companions of hers now knew what to do.

As she shook off the dizziness caused by that gelatinous annoyance, as she was now calling it inwardly, she grasped her sword tightly with her mouth set in a straight line of grim concentration, hearing the sloshing in the water. Against three swords, this should be a little easier than Volvagia had been. And this time, no burns would be sustained. Peachy. That and she vastly preferred the chilliness and wetness of the Water temple to the insufferably hot air of the Fire temple, which had sort of hurt to even breathe at times. She supposed it may have had something to do with how she had been engaged to a Zora and therefore had to be used to the water.

_Slosh, slosh, slosh…_She leapt backwards, barely keeping her balance. A tentacle of that odd jelly-like creature flopped uselessly, searching for her blindly, and several more tentacles came bursting forth from the water too. Luckily Dark and Link were able to dodge them, and soon enough the red blob that she supposed was either its brain, heart, or all its organs including its 'eyes' combined, came up one of the tentacles, and Link was immediately on it, as he was the closest.

It screeched in pain and Navi flew out of Link's hat. "Oh, would you just _die_?" She nearly got swatted by a tentacle and so she hid Behind Link again.

Instead of retreating back to its watery deathtrap it grabbed one of them—Dark. He tried wriggling out of the grasp before it began squeezing and pulling him over to the edge of the water.

'_No…'_ The back of her hand itched again and grew warm, almost uncomfortably so, and she ran forwards and hacked away at the extremity that had taken hold of her friend. After a few slashes it gave up—or so it seemed. She almost had relaxed and was moving to start over to Dark to pull him up—he was gasping for breath, after all—when another tentacle came up and dragged her underwater as she screamed in surprise. That's when she panicked—that thing had an advantage over her here in this deathtrap. She swam over to a ladder and began to pull herself up furiously, but she felt two tendrils of the monster wrap around her legs. Yanking herself upwards, wishing she had her sword—which was now laying on the floor where it was being rather useless. She got to the top of the ladder and held on tightly. "Link! Kill it! Hurt it! Do _something_ so I can get out of this fucking water!" The ladder's wood was groaning in protest at how she was using it as an anchor, but she held on tight, hoping it would hold. Kit didn't bother praying to the goddesses—she'd never been religious to begin with and just because they existed didn't mean she was going to be.

The monster was tugging so hard she felt like if she was a doll her legs would have popped out of her sockets by now—thankfully enough, though, the monster was a little preoccupied with the two men who were on the semi-dry ground and obviously was just toying with her. She gritted her teeth as the monster gave another impatient tug. "I'm not a fucking plaything!" She hissed under her breath, only to have it give a stronger tug. That really worried her. Maybe this thing _did_ see her as a toy.

The black-haired male stabbed at the red pulsating glob again and she was released after an additional slice from the blonde. She quickly scrambled onto the square, her legs feeling sore where the monster had held on and tugged on her, and she quickly got up and jumped back over to where her sword was, retrieving it.

"Let's kill this fuckin' thing." She growled. It liked to play, now, did it? She'd show it what that earned it.

"Kit, you okay—?" The Hero of Time was now being suspended in the air by his ankle, leaving him to slash at the tentacle until it decided to let go. Dark rushed over and caught him before he hit the hard ground, a slight blush on his cheeks. Kit smirked inwardly—it seemed like Dark had an attraction. That was good, actually; Link was stressed out and lonelier than her, and that was a bad thing. She knew Link wasn't too picky about such trivial things as gender, obviously from how accepting he was of her engagement to Ruto that happened so very long ago, and that he desperately wanted someone to love in that way. She would observe what would develop, and if nothing did, they would be none the wiser. She just had a gut feeling.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." She replied tonelessly, her intense gaze on the waving tentacles.

"Thanks Dark." The blonde smiled, and the pale boy nodded before retreating back to his spot. The jelly-like tentacle's burst from the water again and waved about wildly.

Her eyes widened. "It's getting desperate! Link!" He nodded and stood with his sword at the ready, as they all did. It was a second or two before more tentacles sprung from the water, and they smacked onto the stone flooring, slithering along for anything alive to grab onto. The monster was obviously seething with fury at how it was losing.

All of a sudden tentacles were waving everywhere, more smacking them around than grabbing and playing anymore. The red blob soon appeared, the slashes and stabs in it slowly leaking purple blood into the surrounding gelatin-like body of the monster. With a cry Link leapt up and then brought his sword down on the blob, cleaving it neatly in two. They all clutched their hands over their ears as the thing gave a shuddering death-screech and then collapsed into water, the center burning away in bright green flames as it had been banished by the Master Sword. A blue light opened on the floor, guaranteeing their way out.

"Come on, Dark." Kit picked herself up, having been knocked down by the tentacles. Her clothes were ruffled, mostly due to the fact that that thing had assaulted her more than the other two. She supposed it's because she escaped its clutches more than the other two. Her hands were scraped a bit on the knuckles and palms from the rough stone floor, and she could almost feel the bruises forming on her legs. The slice on her palm hurt worse but it was ignorable. She supposed Link's ankle would be sore for a little while, and Dark was wheezing slightly—his torso was probably bruised, as was hers. She felt a certain amount of pain when breathing but she had been injured like that before—it certainly wasn't a new sensation. She felt fatigue sweep over her form—but managed to not slouch, and she hid it carefully. She would sleep soon enough; just…Not now.

As they approached the light Dark whimpered. She placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled. "It's our way out of here, okay?" He still looked unsure. "Link and I might not end up exactly where you do, and it might take us a few minutes to rejoin with you, but we have some important people in the Chamber of Sages to talk to." She didn't know whether or not their new ally would be allowed in the chamber or not, but she didn't want him to freak out because they disappeared.

He bit his lip and gave a nod. She sheathed her sword, and the blonde did too. The black-haired male had already put his blade away long ago.

"We are _not_ going to leave you all alone." She spoke firmly, knowing his suspicions.

She had often suffered from small panic attacks when she was very young because of how little human contact she got and how nobody had cared for her—but she had gotten past that with logic and by training. Since he had been alone in such a nightmarish situation for practically his entire life, she couldn't blame him in the least for not wanting to be alone.

"I believe you." He stepped cautiously closer to the light, and then Kit smiled and grabbed his hand. Link did so too, mimicking her because he didn't like seeing their new friend frightened, and they walked into the light together. They each were raised up in their own blue crystals, the two retracting their hands because of them.

When Kit and Link opened their eyes, they were in the chamber of Sages. Dark was standing between them, rather confused. What was more, Ruto was there too.

"…You're the sage." Kit spoke quietly.

"Yes, my love, I am." The woman rushed forward and hugged her, then held her hands. "I'm sorry for not telling you as soon as I found out, but…"

"It's fine." The redhead smiled.

"I guess this means the engagement's definitely off, huh?" She giggled.

"Yes." She nodded, a smile curving her lips. "Don't worry about me, okay? King has decided I'm to remain as honorary Zoran royalty, and he still claims me as a daughter—even though I'm not going to be able to claim the throne, or anything like that." She gave a shrug. "I wouldn't want to, anyway."

"That's wonderful! The rest of them at the Domain really like you, you know."

"I know." She nodded. "You're a dear friend, Ruto, and the rest of the Zora have befriended me along the way as well…You have my eternal gratitude for giving me somewhere I can belong. Now that that matter is settled, shall we get on with the more important business?" Her eyes glittered.

"Yes, we shall." She retreated to her original position, and Kit seemed more relaxed.

Dark tugged on the bottom of her tunic to gain her attention. "You were engaged to her?"

"Yes. A sacred stone we needed before our seven-year's slumber was apparently used as an engagement item for the Zora, and we needed it. She gave it to me, thinking me a better suitor than Link. I love her like a friend, though, not romantically. And if you're wondering, the Zora know of an enchantment that allows two females to reproduce together—and a technique to manipulate the offspring so they turn out to be Zora."

He nodded. Talk about taking one for the team! He was amazed that she'd been able to do that without hurting anyone—she or Ruto didn't seem upset, after all.

They ignored Ruto's speech because most of it was directed at Link, and it was knowledge that he needed to know. The princess and Hero ignored them because she had to explain things to Dark, otherwise he'd be confused. She should have talked to him about it in the water temple, actually, but it hadn't been overly relevant or important.

"Take this, the Water Medallion, and add my strength to yours." A blue coin came out of nowhere and landed in Link's outstretched palm. He smiled and placed it into one of the pockets within his tunic.

"Thanks Ruto."

"And…One more thing." Kit watched, more than a little confused, as the newly awakened Water Sage walked forwards towards her. She placed her hands on her shoulders and smiled, and Kit relaxed.

All of a sudden the Zora's face was very close and she felt a warm pair of moist, somewhat slippery lips on her own. She didn't move or kiss back—she stood stock-still and her eyes had opened wide. It wasn't a mind-numbing kiss like the ones detailed in a book that Sheik had jokingly given her for a birthday one year—she had bashed him over the head with the thin novel after finishing it and left him to chuckle and rub his head as she had stormed off—but it wasn't horrid. It was just…There, she supposed. It could have been much worse.

Ruto released her and removed her lips. She chuckled as she saw that the rose-petal pink lips on her once-fiancé were a little swollen and were a shade or two darker even with her gentle treatment, and she enveloped her in a tight hug. "I'll miss you, my love."

She didn't say anything. All she did was give a smile and hugged her back. When she was released Kit straightened her Zora tunic and then they were gone in a flash of light.

Her feet hit stone, and she opened her eyes to see that they were all on the warp pad underneath that old tree at Lake Hylia. She smiled up at the blue sky before she heard a gurgling sound. She rushed over to the edge of the island and gave a joyous laugh. "Link! It's filling back up!"

"Really?" His answer was soon received, because they could easily see that the water level was steadily rising. "Oh, thank goodness!" Navi chimed in agreement, floating about Link's hat.

She turned around and saw Dark looking around curiously. She walked over and smiled at him. "So, how do you like the outside?"

"It's…nice." He murmured, eyes wide and bright. His eyes flickered to her. "…Your lips are a little swollen." He snickered.

Her eyes widened. "Well, shit." Her fingers went up to her lips and touched them gently. They indeed felt a little different than usual. "Well, it was my first kiss, after all." She gave a shrug, her hand dropping. Her two companion's eyes widened. "I'm just glad that breaking off that engagement went so well. I had thought it would be a lot worse."

"That was your first one?" The blue-eyed Hero asked, stance showing his surprise.

She gave him a strange look. "What? Is it so surprising?"

"Oh. Right… They usually mistrust you because of how you look." He smacked himself on the forehead. "It's so easy to forget…And Ruto never tried to kiss you before?"

She shook her head. "I explained to her that even though I didn't think of it as anything special, I just wasn't ready." She looked up and smiled. "Sheik, come down here."

He hopped out of the tree and Dark scrambled behind her. She turned her head back towards him. "Its fine, Dark. He's a friend. Sheik, Dark. Dark, Sheik." She introduced them with a smile.

"…He was created by Ganondorf." Sheik spoke, his eyes narrowed. He had begun to loosen one of his throwing daggers from the bandages on his wrists when she moved all the way in front of him, her arms outstretched and her lips curled into a snarl.

"You will _not_ hurt him." She growled, her eyes looking almost like they had flashed dark red for a moment because of the fiery protection and defiance expressed through them. The triangle on the back of her hand was glowing and itching a little, growing warm.

"K-Kit, your hand…" He dropped his stance and looked at her injured palm. The tension in her body disappeared after he wasn't in a position to hurt Dark anymore. She'd been ignoring the injury for the entirety of the temple. It had kept clean due to the water, so she wasn't too worried. He strode over and took it in his hand, and at the moment she was too tired to effectively resist. He pulled it down and turned it over to assess the damage that had been done—and his eyes grew wide. "…What's this?"

"I don't know. It's probably a useless by-product of the triforce." She sighed, letting the Sheikah look over it. "I don't know if it has a name or anything; I simply woke up with it on my hand in the Chamber of Sages the first time."

His slightly calloused fingers rubbed over it, and she shuddered. "Sensitive?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Very." His brow furrowed. "It's warm, and it's glowing…When did it start acting up?"

"It acts up almost randomly, but it's usually when I feel the strong desire to do something right, or to protect someone…" Her eyes narrowed in realization. "So, that's its trigger…"

"Hmm…Interesting. I'll look for information on this." He dropped her hand.

"Ah, yes. And Ruto ascended as a sage so the engagement would have had to be broken anyway." She smiled.

"Why are your lips swollen?" He asked suspiciously. Link dragged Dark over to the other side of the small island and was telling him how to start a fire, helping him gather firewood, so they were left alone.

'_Good…I'm sorta chilly.'_ She couldn't help but to think. "Oh, stop being protective. She gave me my first kiss before I came here. I don't really mind…She loves me and I can't love her back like that, it must be torture. It was the least I could do." She started untangling her hair with her hands. It was still wet, but it would be a gigantic mess if she didn't get it combed. "Anyway…Dark isn't loyal to Ganon. He never was. He was under complete control the entire time he has been alive—he couldn't control anything. He could see out of his body's eyes, though. He was only granted basic knowledge and knowledge about fighting; that was it." She shook her head sadly. "When he was dying the controlling spell over him shattered. I saved him because he deserved a second chance."

He seemed to think over it, but still gave a frown. "You're too much of a bleeding heart sometimes." He said it almost fondly, though, underneath the hard tone.

"Well, if didn't have my soft caring side then I would easily be labeled as a cruel, heartless monster." She returned gently. "It's part of me. No matter how much I am hurt, I will always help others in any way possible. It's in my nature…"

He stilled. "You're not a monster!" He growled. "Why would you even say such a thing?" His eyes searched hers, but she waved it off.

"…Just…forget about it." She shook her head and gave a smile. "I'll be fine. Just…Just tired. We were in that temple for eight hours straight, Sheik—I'm exhausted. Just thinking about all I've done, and I think the treatment I have received in my life's starting to get under my skin."

"Don't let it." He answered firmly. "And I know you're tired…You were swimming for most of that time as well. Just get some rest and heal up, okay?"

She nodded. "Ah, yes, and I will need a mission. It will be at least three days before I'll start off to Kakariko. Our funds are a little low right now and our new companion needs things of his own too."

He nodded. "All right. I might only be able to get some dirty work, is that okay?"

"Sure, sure. I don't mind either way." She knew what dirty work meant. Usually assassinating someone who was being a threat to the safety of civilians. As long as they had done something awful willingly, she couldn't really care as long as she could get it over with quickly. Link didn't know she did assassinations sometimes when she did a mission from Sheik, and she wanted to keep it that way. He'd probably be disgusted or something. She only really went after criminals such as rapists or murderers anyway, so she could feel at least a little better at the blood on her hands.

It wasn't like she killed for sport, after all. And they were in a war at the moment, no matter how few and far between attacks had become in the last month. Blood was spilt either way; she'd rather be sullying her conscience and soul to save either lives or innocence than just sitting back and watching it unfold without lifting a finger to do _something_.

"All right, I'll try to find the usual for you. It should be pretty easy with all the travelers coming through Kakariko right now. Lots of trouble."

She nodded. "I see." She went to take a step but yelped. "Oww…" She rubbed at her thighs and worked downward slightly, biting her tongue.

"What happened?"

"Apparently the boss of the temple believed I was a toy of some sort. It dragged me into the water where it lived and tried to yank me away from a ladder by my legs like an impatient child."

"Its name was Morpha." Sheik smiled underneath his cowl, but then it disappeared. "Did it hurt you too badly?"

"No, no…Just bruises." She wheezed a little, the pain of her bruised torso more apparent when she was in a partially-asphyxiated position. She straightened up, and looked over the beautifully sparkling waters. "At least the lake's back to normal…"

He nodded. "I suppose I will see you in Kakariko in three days."

"No. I said I would leave for Kakariko in three days." She corrected gently. "I'll be there on either the fourth or fifth day from now. I must visit King Zora and tell him his daughter has ascended."

He nodded. "Of course. The domain will be thawing soon, since the Water Temple is cleansed."

"Good, good. I'll have to stop in and help out when I can then." He smiled.

"Even though they're not your people, you still think of them as such." His assumption was spot on, he saw, as her eyes softened.

"They accepted me as one of them before I thought of them as such. It's only natural to want to repay their kindness and friendship." She gave a laugh, and he couldn't resist a chuckle. "Now, I know you've got things to do of your own, and I've gotta take care of my boys."

"Your boys?" Sheik asked with a hint of surprise.

"Yes. Link is like a brother to me—he is my family. Dark needs me to teach him things about this new world he's been thrust into, and well, without them I'd be a giant mess." Her smile was small and true as she shrugged. She turned her head to see the two men making a fire out of some twigs. Link was teaching him how to start it. "It is the only way I can describe them. You're close enough to me that if you travelled with us you would be one of my boys too." She turned her head back, truly meaning the last statement. Sheik was one of her best friends, since she could share and talk about some things in her past that with Link she could not. Dark was also excluded now, she reminded herself—he trusted her. There was no need for him to find out she had blood, even if not of innocents, on her hands.

"Okay then. And Kit,"

"Yes?"

"Are you okay with sharing Impa's house with me once you arrive in Kakariko?"

She nodded. "Sure. I know the inn's full, and it wouldn't be the first time I have shared her house with you. There's no need to ask."

He nodded, and then readied a Deku nut. She smiled and covered her eyes as he threw it.

"Oww! Son of a bitch!" Navi screeched, running into Link's head which she had been aiming to sit down on. She fell down to the ground and proceeded to have an angry red tinge to her glow. "Why does he always have to do that?"

"Because he's Sheik and he has more important things to do than waste time traipsing all over Hyrule just to catch up with us." Kit spoke knowledgeably, stiffly turning and limping over towards the crackling fire. "Hey, Link, would you mind retrieving our packs from Epona? I wanna sleep here tonight. My legs are too sore."

He nodded. "Sure thing sis." He started off across the bridge, and she relaxed a little, easing herself into a sitting position. She slid her boots and socks off, glad the charm was still working, and hissed at the sight of the bruises that curved their way up her calves. They were particularly nasty at her ankles, dark and fresh in two rings that would most likely make walking around painful for awhile.

Dark flopped down beside her and gently ghosted a hand over one of the bruises. "Why didn't you say you were hurt?"

"Because, pain's easy to ignore." She responded. "Injuries like this are nothing compared to how badly I've been hurt before. And you're hurt too. You're wheezing…We'll take care of it later, after we sleep, okay?"

He nodded. "Of course."

A few minutes later Link returned with their packs. "Epona's a bit restless."

"Well, she's probably expecting another mad dash like earlier." The redhead shrugged. Her pack was placed down beside her and she immediately opened it up and started to paw through it. She unbuckled all of her gear and left it on the ground. Link dragged Dark away a bit, making him face away from the redhead. He didn't exactly get the point of modesty, really, but he would learn. Even though she couldn't care either way it was still nice to see Link was playing the part of the overprotective brother.

She unclasped the top of the tunic and shed it, then stepped out of her pants and removed her wet undergarments quickly. Her torso was a plethora of bruises, and she was pretty sure it would hurt to even move her arm the next day. Link would have to go get more red potion, for all of them. But then again, she healed rather quickly at odd times. She supposed it could be because of that mark on the back of her hand, but then again the theory was unfounded.

She got some dry, clean clothes and underclothes from her pack and dressed quickly. She had three more outfits and sets of undergarments—well, more than that in underwear—and so she would be fine for a little bit. She took her brush out and sat down in front of the fire, her wet clothes waiting to be lain out to dry. It could wait until her hair was taken care of. "I'm decent."

Dark turned around and gasped, ignoring whatever Link had been telling him. "You're showing your midriff!" He pointed.

"Just because she's at least part Hylian doesn't mean she has to wear the clothes of one." Link rolled his eyes.

"Oh…So what race is she?" He asked with a naïvely curious glint in his eyes.

"…I don't really know." She spoke quietly. "I'm at least part Hylian, as Link has said." She paused and gave a dismal smile. "I just don't seem to fit into many places, that's all."

He looked confused. "I don't see anything wrong with you."

"There's nothing _wrong_ with me, per se, but…" She chewed a little on her lip, thinking of a way to explain it. "If you're different sometimes people don't like it. They mistrust you because you're unfamiliar, or because there's no explanation for what you look like." She had a faraway look in her eyes, as if she was remembering something. Dark had gotten a little bit of information out of Link—that she hadn't been well liked in her old village, that it was gone now, destroyed by the Dark King, but when it was there she had protected it. That had made no sense to him logically but didn't ask her about it, as not telling him this herself was clearly a sign that she didn't want to talk about it. He had also learned of their quest so far and even the seven years of slumber.

"…It's hard to forget that you're technically eleven mentally." Link shook his head, as if he had to constantly remind himself of that. He had thought, originally, that she was much older than him—when in fact she was slightly younger.

She gave a laugh. "It's because I'm not…Not anymore at least. You've noticed too…that you've matured quite quickly mentally as well. Your childhood was cut short, Link. Mine…Well, mine never really existed. I was always considered an adult, remember? I had to have the mentality of an adult to survive like that, you know." She gave a humorless smile and dug through her pack once more. She took her bedroll out and the blanket that went along with it and handed it to the black-haired male. "Here. I can stand sleeping with just a blanket tonight. My mind's not going to shut up for awhile, anyway."

The red eyes widened and he spluttered. "You don't need to! Really, I—" He shut his trap when she gave him a pointed look.

"It's _fine_. I want you two to be taken care of before me, and I heal fast sometimes. Maybe I'll be lucky and this will be one of those times, since the mark's been acting up lately." She stiffly got up, biting her lip, and then sat against the tree, the blanket covering her. She was sitting in its shade, hiding from the afternoon sun. She couldn't burn but the sunlight would attempt to keep her awake. Looking up, she had to surmise that it was two hours past noon. They had been in that temple for a long time, then. Maybe it was two-thirty, it didn't feel early enough to be near two… She let out a yelp of pain when she tried to arrange her legs in a more comfortable position, earning some concerned glances from her companions, who were beginning to bed down. "I'm f…fine." She gritted out, trying not to wheeze. The pain always got worse before it got better.

After the sun had gone down and the moon was high in the sky, Kit wrenched from her nightmares, topaz eyes and screams that got louder no matter what she did plaguing her mood, her eyes darkening along with her thoughts. _'That damn bastard…'_ She didn't want to go back to sleep. Now along with all the horrific things and painful discrimination she had endured, she had to now deal with the images of the Zora crying out for help, for her to save them as they froze. She shuddered, shaking her head furiously in an unsuccessful attempt to knock that image from her brain.

She stood stiffly and left her blanket at the base of the tree, deciding that a little walking would most likely help the stiffness. The bruises were even darker now, but she couldn't help that. They would stop hurting soon enough. She walked across the bridge barefoot until she got to the lone gravestone. She sat on it, staring up at the moon, trying to sort through the nightmare she'd just had. It had been jumbled, confused, and scarier than her usual nightmares. It was so confusing all she could remember was blurry, and even worse was the fact that she felt in the bottom of her stomach that she didn't want to remember. Yet her damned curiosity persevered fruitlessly, only annoying her further because she had no reason to cease raking her mind for the answers she wanted.

Her hair was dry, at least. She hated when it was wet for long periods of time—and it was useless to tie it back. She found it tangled more as if it protested being put up in any kind of restriction, especially when wet or when getting into the water. She combed her fingers through it, the dark crimson waves catching the moonlight. She loved times like these when it was just calm. Peaceful. She loved the thrill of the fight—but it was dampened by almost having died quite a few times, whether it be to protect Link or to protect Navi or some innocents. She loved to explore, as did Link and apparently Dark, but sometimes she had to question the sanity and logic of the temples—but then again, magic could twist logic so much at times it either made no sense whatsoever or perfect sense. Well, in her mind anyway.

She sighed and buried her face into her knees, deciding that when she went to Kakariko she was going to have to finish whatever job Sheik could find for her quickly, quietly and cleanly. She now had not only Link to take care of, but Dark as well, and right now the black-haired teen was going to need some education about how people were going to react to him. She, personally, thought he was handsome and beautifully unique—however most people would probably think him a monster or demon as they had so foolishly thought about her. Just because he looked different.

She sighed, and played with her hair a little bit, twirling it around her fingers as she stared up at that luminous white orb that for some reason calmed her emotions and let her think clearly. She sat awake under its soft light the entire night, just thinking. Planning. Wondering.

Hours later she felt oddly more at peace, more collected than she had been in months. She supposed that Sheik would have called her daze mediation, but she didn't think the term quite fit. She rose from the oddly-placed tombstone, the rock actually slightly warm where she had sat all night, and she walked back to where the dying embers of the fire and her slumbering companions lay. There was a stone there that held an inscription that had always nibbled at her mind whenever they came here. _'When the sun begins to rise, shoot for the morning light…_' She tapped her curled index finger on her chin. Then a brilliant idea took hold of her, and just for curiosity's sake, she couldn't say no.

She quietly took the Hero's Bow from their Bag of Holding—he had preferred to not wear his quiver in the temple, after all, because the arrows would have easily been lost—and waited patiently. When the first rays of the sun peeked over the edging of trees that surrounded Lake Hylia's high walls like a thick veil of secrecy, she notched the arrow and then let it fly, seemingly into the sun, the strange rectangular island with those two upright stones on it helping her somewhat unpracticed aim. She had never been one for projectile weapons, vastly preferring things she could hold or yank back to her. Something that wasn't easy to run out of ammunition for, in other words.

To her immense surprise the arrow didn't fly into the thick trees and floated down from the blinding sun, the arrowhead encased in a red gem. It touched down softly on the strangely symmetrical island and gave a weak red glow every so often.

She walked over to the edge and decided that it wasn't too bad of an idea to take a swim—she would have to wash these clothes soon anyway, this being the third day of wearing them. So she dove in, and quietly made her way through the pleasantly cold water to the rectangular island. Pulling herself up onto the rock, she reached out for the arrow before yanking her hand back, the magic almost tangibly surrounding the arrow. She almost felt like her hand had been scorched—but no burn marks were on her fingertips. That was good.

Magic. She got a faint hot feeling from it, but not magma-hot like she had felt constantly in Death Mountain. No, it was more contained, a smaller version of Din's fire, she supposed, and in the convenience of an arrow. That would make sense, actually, and she could definitely think of some types of uses for such an enchanted arrow. Link would have to take a look at it to effectively use it, though. She didn't particularly want to even try it—she'd seen enough destructive flames in her nightmares. So she slipped back into the water and held the arrow high with her left hand, easily swimming back to the larger island with the tree.

She couldn't believe that it had been her to find this magical item—and all of a sudden felt bad. She glanced to Link in his sleep. She knew that it was supposed to be _him_ doing all of this. She wasn't in the prophecies, and neither was Dark. Navi wasn't mentioned very elaborately. Sheik wasn't either. Zelda…She didn't know if she was even in them, not having looked at any books or transcripts in great detail, only hearing bits and snippets of the legend.

She snorted softly. Screw the prophecies. Even though they were on this quest, they had reasons other than 'because the Goddesses said to'. They were trying to save good people from evil, to do what was right. She wasn't the Goddesses' lapdog or puppet—and apparently they knew that and liked it. Maybe, or…She shook her head, derailing her own train of thought for once. Why was she thinking of such roundabout, dead-end things? She had to wait for her companions to awake…

'_Or…'_ She crept over to Link and giggled softly before leaning over him and placing a bright smile on her lips even though she felt pain from her contusions. "Good morning, Link!"

"Gah!" He sat up sharply, nearly rolling out of his bedding. She rolled her eyes at his look and moreover his posture—he looked frazzled and was now supporting himself on his hands, sitting up halfway—and rolled her eyes, dumping the arrow onto his lap. Dark had awoken from the commotion, and he was now snickering. She would have laughed at his long hair that was freed from his cap, but decided not to.

"Where'd you get this?" He looked over it as she patiently waited for him to finish his observation, knowing if she broke his concentration he'd get a little crabby. "It has an enchantment on it, it's fairly simple…A fire arrow."

She sucked in a breath. So her assumptions had been absolutely correct. "Well, you know how that stone," She pointed to it, "Always bugged me? Well, I figured it out. I borrowed your bow and an arrow, I hope you don't mind."

"No, how could I? This'll be useful!" He handed the arrow back to her and she opened the Bag of Holding and placed it into their second quiver, having to dig around a little to find it.

"All right, that's good…Link, can you get some red potion for all of us? We're all injured, but you have the least contusions." She gestured to her legs and he winced. She glanced down and winced too. Ugly bruises would their way up her pale legs, and she knew they continued all the way up to her inner thighs. She was surprised she was even able to move about.

He nodded. "I can try. I'm pretty sure that old guy will sell us some…" She handed him her wallet.

"Just don't spend too much. Dark still needs things of his own, you know."

"Yes, I know." He rolled his eyes then got off his bedroll.

"I'll pack your bedding up!" She called after him, and then smiled at Dark. "All right, you've got a lot to learn, okay?"

He nodded. "I know I do." His eyes were shining.

She gave a warm smile—she was glad he was so eager—and then launched into a lecture about the different races and how each would most likely react to him, among many other useful tidbits of knowledge. She knew that this would take all day but she didn't want him thrust into the world without a clue of what to expect.

* * *

**K.L.K- Okay, this chappie's finished. (Whistles cheerfully)**

**Kit-…Okay. Why the hell am I the one who Morpha decided was a plaything?**

**K.L.K- Well, you see, I just love putting my characters into situations they'll hate me for. (Licks her lips) It's entertaining to me. (Chuckles)**

**Wesker- (walks in) Careful…I think you're hanging out with me and Will a bit too often.**

**K.L.K- (snorts) Yeah…right. I'm just a little sadistic and morbid, plus I love writing emotions, and it gives me a chance to slip a little humor in there. You know, the good stuff.**

**Wesker- (eyebrow raise)…Mm-hm. (Walks over to the refrigerator, takes two sodas, leaves)**

**K.L.K-…Okay…bye…?**

**Link- So, I get to limp off and get more red potion?**

**K.L.K- Yupperooni.**

**Link-…(grumbles)**

**Dark- (Pops out from behind K.L.K) Please review!**

**K.L.K- …(Twitchy twitch) M…Must you sneak up on me? Gah! I think I had a mini-spazz attack!**


End file.
